Week in Review 9/14/14

Hey folks. It’s been a busy week, as you can probably tell by this post arriving even later than last week’s review post. Perhaps this coming Sunday I’ll get my act together in a timely fashion and allow you all to enjoy some new tunes and articles with your morning coffee. Instead, here’s your nightcap.

Starting things off, atmospheric black metal legend Darkspace released its newest album, III I, this week. Pre-orders apparently sold out a while ago, but the album is all on the label’s soundcloud account for the rest of us to enjoy. It’s a gorgeous listen and I’m placing it first so that you can visit the other links in today’s post while you enjoy the sounds of true black ambient mastery.

This is something I haven’t yet seen confirmed from the brewery itself, but according toMyBeerBuzz, craft beer mainstays Stone Brewing are continuing to make a name for themselves by announcing a new beer unlike any other on the market. After a successful series of different “Enjoy By” IPAs that are meant to be consumed at their freshest point, Stone has announced the new Enjoy After series. This beer will require a year’s worth of cellaring before consumption to allow the last minute addition of Brettanomyces to fully carbonate and mature. With an initial run that will not be ready to drink until Halloween of 2015, this one could either really excite beer geeks or frustrate people who want to pay for a beer they’re ready to enjoy immediately. What are your thoughts on this one?

It’s not uncommon for me to come across black metal acts who take inspiration from krautrock these days. With black metal possibly being at an all-time peak in popularity, it makes sense that pretty much every other oddball, outsider genre is getting mixed into black metal at some point. Still, not all the bands do it as well or as interestingly as Spitzenqualitat, who are clearly influenced by the endlessly influential Neu! I know next to nothing about this Japanese act, whose album appeared on bandcamp with little fanfare or notice. This isn’t immediately going to grab most of my readers, but if you have the time to sit with this album once or twice, the appeal should be apparent.

Some of you who keep up with me outside of the occasional post here on the Black Metal & Brews site are probably quite familiar with my love of animals. My pal Kim Kelly wrote a great little piece on the extreme metal community’s activism and support for the welfare of our animal companions. As the proud papa of a cute little cat, it brings me joy to see my fellow metal folks coming together to dispel the notion that we’re a bunch of destructive, hateful people. Also, for those who don’t know, Kim has a really cute cat named Greta. This is relevant, because Greta is a wonderful beast. Here’s a picture.

Surly Brewing recently collaborated on a beer with prominent black metal act 1349, who are apparently rather particular about their beers. While it should come as no surprise that such uncompromising musicians are also into finely crafted beer, it always brings a bit of joy when I realize that the artists who make music I enjoy are also involved in the beer community that I try my best to support. I know I won’t find any Surly beers out here in Oregon, but I hope my friends who can access this beer take advantage of the opportunity (and send me an email to let me know how it is)!

Finally, it would hardly be a week in black metal coverage if I didn’t at least share Neill Jameson’s (Krieg, Twilight, etc) lengthy, informative post on Noisey about Blake Judd’s growing notoriety and how this behavioral trend is hardly a new thing. It’s a sad read about friendship and loss, but it’s definitely worth ten minutes of your time, especially if you’re among the disillusioned masses, or even if you’re one of the folks still clinging to Nachtmystium’s legacy.

Today’s post was a bit shorter than in weeks past, but I hope it’s provided you with some brief enjoyment. Was there something you wanted to see that wasn’t featured that I should include in next week’s post? Be sure to get in touch and your thoughts will become immortalized on the pages of Black Metal & Brews.

About The Author

Ben

Black Metal & Brews is a website run by Ben. As the curator and author of 99.9% of the content on this site since 2012, Ben's dedication and love of music and finely crafted beer have kept this site running. Ben's other interests include coffee, video games, and spending time with Jareth the cat.